Ghana Handbook Global Health Fellows Program Updated: 3/27/2015
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Ghana Handbook Global Health Fellows Program Updated: 3/27/2015 11 Table of Contents NPGH CONSORTIUM IN GHANA .................................................................................. 3 Consortium Universities .....................................................................................................3 Partner Institutions ............................................................................................................3 Research Opportunities ......................................................................................................4 Country Overview ..................................................................................................................6 Health Statistics .................................................................................................................6 Health & Healthcare ...........................................................................................................6 PREPARING FOR YOUR TRIP ........................................................................................ 7 Financial ............................................................................................................................7 Entry/Exit Requirements ....................................................................................................7 Visa .......................................................................................................................................... 7 Vaccines and Travel-related Health Concerns ........................................................................ 7 Other Documentation ............................................................................................................. 8 Traveler Security Registration & Emergency Contacts .........................................................8 Emergency Contacts ............................................................................................................... 8 Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) ............................................................................ 8 Packing for your Trip ..........................................................................................................8 IN-COUNTRY ............................................................................................................. 11 Communication ............................................................................................................... 11 Money ............................................................................................................................. 11 Transportation & Traveling .............................................................................................. 12 Entertainment ................................................................................................................. 12 Food ................................................................................................................................13 Health & Safety ................................................................................................................ 13 Housing ........................................................................................................................... 14 Local Customs .................................................................................................................. 14 REFERENCES & RESOURCES ....................................................................................... 15 Page 2 NPGH CONSORTIUM IN GHANA Consortium Universities . University of Michigan . University of Washington Partner Institutions . Kwame Nkrumah University of . University of Cape Coast Science and Technology (KNUST) . University of Development . University of Ghana Studies . Ministry of Health / Ghana Health Service Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST): KNUST was established in 1952. The College of Health Sciences includes the Faculties of Allied Health Sciences, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Dental School, School of Veterinary Medicine, and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR). The School of Medical Sciences was founded in 1975 with an original mandate to train physicians, medical scientists and medical laboratory technologists. Currently, the School has 14 departments teaching courses, and concentrates on training physicians at the undergraduate level and medical scientists at the postgraduate levels. The Medical Laboratory Technology program is run separately in the Faculties of Allied Health Sciences. University of Ghana: The University of Ghana was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast and is the oldest and largest of six public Universities in Ghana. The current student population is 29,754, with 1,816 post-graduate students, 26,154 Bachelor’s degree students, and 1,784 sub-degree students. There are 865 faculty members engaged in research and teaching. The College of Health Sciences as well as the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, and Allied Health Sciences are located at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. University of Cape Coast: The University of Cape Coast was founded in 1971, and has a total student population of over 35,922: 14,815 Regular Undergraduate Students, 2,146 Sandwich Students and 18,018 Distant Learning Students. The School of Medical Sciences at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) was established in response to the deficit Page 3 of health care workers, especially doctors. UCC's goal is to train enough doctors to supplement the number of doctors trained at the other three medical schools in Ghana. The curriculum at UCC focuses on clinical and community experiences; the goal of this community based approach is to identify the common causes of morbidity and mortality in rural Ghana. Through UCC's novel curriculum students learn early on in their training about the science & care of patients. Graduates from UCC will understand the social, cultural, environmental and other factors that impact the health of their patients. University of Development Studies: The University for Development Studies (UDS) was established in May 1992 in Tamale to blend the academic world with that of the community for the development of Northern Ghana and Ghana as a whole. It began academic work in September 1993 with the first batch of 39 students admitted into the Faculty of Agriculture (FOA), Nyankpala. The University's principal objective is to address and find solutions to the environmental problems and socio-economic deprivations that have characterized northern Ghana in particular and are also found in some rural areas throughout the rest of the country. The University operates four satellite campuses spread out in the three Northern Regions of Ghana: Wa Campus (Upper West Region), Navrongo Campus (Upper East Region), and Tamale and Nyankpala Campuses (Northern Region). The School of Medicine at the University of Development Studies was founded in Tamale in 1996 and is located on the Tamale Campus. Previously, medical students received basic science training at UDS and then completed their clinical training at University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS). However due to limited space and resources at UGMS, UDS began offering clinical training at their Tamale campus. Research Opportunities The University of Michigan and the University of Washington have strong research collaborations with several institutions in Ghana dating to 1985 (UM) and 1993 (UW). The University of Ghana (UG), KNUST, UCC, UDS, and the research unit of the Ghana Health Service have partnered with UM on seven active research studies (including four NIH-funded studies and one Fogarty Institute training grant for post-doctoral research fellows), and have published 45 peer-reviewed publications with Ghanaian co-authors. Areas of research include maternal and child health, emergency medicine, human resources for health, and educational assessment. UM also participates in longstanding medical student educational collaborations with UG, KNUST, UCC and UDS. Over the past five years, UM hosted approximately 93 Ghanaian medical students, and has sent approximately 40 UM students to Ghana. The UW-KNUST collaboration is funded by a Fogarty D43 award to strengthen the capacity for injury control research in Ghana, build a cadre of qualified researchers, and generate research that will be translated into effective activities and implementable policy across the spectrum of injury control. This program builds upon a 15-year collaboration for injury research between KNUST and UW, and has significantly influenced policy in Ghana. The collaborative research in Ghana incorporates Page 4 community-based surveys that include direct household visits and interviews. This research has been instrumental in developing and implementing low-tech and sustainable programs to establish or improve pre-hospital trauma care in Ghana. Page 5 COUNTRY OVERVIEW Health Statistics Total population: 23,837,000 Gross national income per capita (PPP international $): 1,320 Life expectancy at birth m/f (years): 57/64 Probability of dying under five (per 1 000 live births): 69 Probability of dying between 15 and 60 years m/f (per 1 000 population): 402/253 Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2009): 122 Total expenditure on health as % of GDP (2009): 8.1 Healthcare Most health care is provided by the government and largely administered by the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Services. The healthcare system